Skibb test centre is safe says Lab TD

Labour TD (and previous Senator) for Cork South-West Michael McCarthy has been assured by the Road Safety Authority that there are no plans to close the Skibbereen Driving Test Centre.

“Following local reports that the Skibbereen Driving Test Centre is facing closure, I immediately contacted the RSA and sought assurances from them that there were no plans afoot to shut the facility.

“I have spoken with the CEO of the Authority, Noel Brett, who confirmed that there are no plans to close Skibbereen or any other test centre at present. The RSA will be reviewing all of their test centres to make sure they have facilities adjacent to areas of high population numbers, but no decisions have been made. Furthermore, no decision would be taken without detailed consideration and would in any event need to be sanctioned by a Minister.

“Not only did Mr. Brett confirm that no decisions have been made, he also stressed that Skibbereen is one of the busiest test centres in the country. Currently it has 594 people on its waiting list, with an average waiting time of seven weeks. This compares very favourably to other test centres around the country such as Ballina (346), Ennis (478) and Carrick-on-Shannon (328).

“Given this information, it is important that we do not fan the fears of locals concerned about the future of the centre, and therefore we must process this information positively.”

Skibbereen County Councillor Brendan Leahy added: “We are delighted with the information from the Road Safety Authority that neither now, nor into the future, have they any plans for the removal of the test centre in Skibbereen. We’re also delighted that jobs for driving instructors as well as testers in the centre are secure.”